FOOTBALL: Maltby Main manager rallies underdogs for FA Cup test

MALTBY Main will have to negotiate another hard away assignment if they are to progress in the FA Cup. 

The Miners make the trip down to Nottingham to take on Carlton Town tomorrow (3pm) as underdogs.

Carlton play at a higher level in the Northern Premier League and Main will have their work cut out.

But having bumped out Pinchbeck United in an away replay in the last round, they are very much live underdogs for thepreliminary round tie.

Manager Lee Thompson said: “I’ve played at Carlton and it’s a tough place to go but if you want to progress you have to go to difficult places and put performances on, like we did at Pinchbeck.

“Carlton are in a higher league but we have played sides from higher levels during pre-season and held our own so I don’t see why we can’t go there and perform.”

Main banked £1,125 for coming through the extra preliminary round and could swell their prize pot to £1,444 should they progress further.

“That’s good for a club like Maltby,” added Thompson. “Obviously, all the money you can get in benefits the club to keep us sustainable and help us improve the ground.

“I’ve said before that we are looking at improving the playing surface. We’ve improved the social media side of things to put us on the map on that side and we are trying our hardest to get the community involved.”

Maltby had won one and lost one of their opening two games in the NCEL Premier Division before Wednesday's trip to Albion Sports, which was abandoned when Main's Jake Squires suffered a double leg break of the tibia and fibula.

The club said they will be supporting Jake throughout his period of recovery.

Meanwhile, manager Thompson, still relatively new to Maltby, is encouraging an attractive style of play and says it is already showing through.

“It was a difficult start to the season for us against two of last year’s top sides,” he said. “We did really well in both league games until the second half against Penistone. We just capitulated. It wasn’t a 4-1 game and we didn’t deserve that but the result speaks for itself.

“We have to improve the way we do things as a team. It’s a learning curve for me. The style of football we are putting on at the minute is entertaining.

“Again, the style I want to play, we need the playing surface to be better and we’d like support from Maltby Town Council for that.”

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